Box Office: 'The Maze Runner' Sprints to #1 with $81M Worldwide

1. The Maze Runner- $32.5M
As discussed with +Sandie Angulo Chen on this weekend's Cinema Royale, figuring out which best-selling YA adaptation will make a hit movie is nearly impossible. The Maze Runner, based on the trilogy by James Dashner, didn't start out with The Hunger Games or Divergent level buzz but a smart marketing campaign and a well-received panel at Comic-Con helped it open to a strong $32.5M debut. 20th Century Fox wisely built up the simple premise, a group of boys trapped in a gigantic maze, and reached out to fans of Dylan O'Brien, star of MTV's Teen Wolf. When combined with the $49M international total, the potential franchise has earned $81M worldwide on a budget hovering at around $34M. Those are the kinds of numbers studios love and all but guarantees we'll see the sequel, The Scorch Trials, very soon.
2. A Walk Among the Tombstones- $13.1M
While all of Liam Neeson's movies are promoted to look like Taken in some way, A Walk Among the Tombstones is actually very different. It's not so much an action movie as an old-fashioned crime yarn, and so it's not surprising to see it open to a smallish $13M. That's obviously well below what Neeson's movies have done lately, but at a cost of only $28M that's not too shabby.
3. This is Where I Leave You- $11.8M
Warner Bros. doesn't stray away from big budget tentpoles often anymore, but when they do it's for star studded dramedies like This is Where I Leave You. The family comedy stars Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Adam Driver, Jane Fonda, and Rose Byrne and looks like any of a million other similar films about offbeat, estranged kin. After some production trouble (the project was halted altogether when Bateman an then-director Adam Shankman split) Bateman and Levy brought it back to life and it seems to have been worth it. While the $11.8M is hardly a big deal, it only cost $18M and will likely play well through the season.
4. No Good Deed- $10.2M/$40.1M
Slipped 58% now that all of the Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson fans have had their fill of the home invasion thriller. Regardless, the $13M film that was hidden from critics has more than turned a profit.
5. Dolphin Tale 2- $9M/$27M
6. Guardians of the Galaxy- $5.1M/$313.6M
7. Let's Be Cops- $2.67M/$77.1M
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $2.65M/$185M
9. The Drop- $2M/$7.6M
10. If I Stay- $1.8M/$47.6M

What's not on the list? Kevin Smith's Tusk, which opened to 602 sites and earned a dismal $886K. The oddball horror stars Justin Long as a podcaster who gets kidnapped by a psycho and forced to wear a walrus suit. That's such a tiny amount it can't even be said that Smith's hardcore base turned out for it, and one has to wonder if he'll continue with the loose trilogy this was meant to be the start of. Personally, I hope he doesn't.

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Cinema Royale #77- The Maze Runner

On this week's Cinema Royale, Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, True Detective) joins in to talk about her new film, the heartfelt military drama Fort Bliss. Directed by Claudia Myers, the film centers on a decorated soldier trying to reconnect with her son after an extended tour overseas.

Plus, our resident YA expert +Sandie Angulo Chen  gives her thoughts on this week's big film, The Maze Runner, starring Teen Wolf's Dylan O'Brien!

Cinema Royale is part of the Hashtag Studios Broadcast Network and brings you movie reviews and news straight from the Nation's Capital! Go to www.cinemaroyaleshow.com and subscribe for free, or find the show on ITunes, TuneIn, and the Cinema Royale app!

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Review: 'This is Where I Leave You', Starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, and Adam Driver

Romantic relationships are usually the center of attention when it comes to exploring them on the big screen. Will they or won't they get together? Should they go out? So on and so forth. These romantic relationships are such a large focus of attention that other types of relationships, important ones to really overlook, are ignored or forgotten in the scheme of things. Siblings, parents, and friends, all important parts of our lives, are the focus in the star-studded This is Where I Leave You, a film that's your typical story about the dysfunctional family and how they still help you get through the roughest parts of your life, with some very comedic moments on the side. 

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) works for an obnoxious radio host (Dax Shepard) and is excited to get home to his wife Quinn (Abigail Spencer) on her birthday, only to find out that she's already given herself another present, in the form of another man. Judd's devastated and things only get worse for him when his sister Wendy (Tina Fey) calls to tell him their dad is dead. So, Judd goes back home to be with his mom (Jane Fonda), Wendy, and two brothers, Paul (Corey Stoll) and Phillip (Adam Driver). 

Apparently an "atheist Jew", their dad's last wish is to have his family sit shiva, the seven-day Jewish mourning period. So, they grudgingly do as his last wish commands, all under one roof for the first time in years. There are old flames involved (Rose Byrne and Timothy Olyphant), Paul and his wife (Kathryn Hahn) desperately trying to have a baby, and basically everyone running amok trying to sort through everything that's happening and miserably attempting to keep their shit together. 

There's a little bit and a lot going on in the film. There are a lot of characters, and a little bit of development for each of them. This is expected of a film with this many people, but at least the focus is on one character, that of Bateman's down-and-out, but all around nice guy. Everything else just spins, but in an orbit around him. There are snippets here and there of other characters having their own moments, either for us to get to understand them better, or for them to understand each other better, but they usually happen around Bateman. 

This film can be compared to any other film about dysfunctional families (and really, the word "dysfunctional" is thrown around too much, as though anyone's family is perfect) being brought back together after a parent's death or another event. There are a lot of these lurking around, but what is a bit more entertaining about this specific movie is that it's actually funny. Beyond all the crazy, the yelling, and the typical sibling banter is actual, shake-your-shoulders laughter. The real scene-stealer being Adam Driver and his baby-of-the-family shirking of all responsibility, laced with a quick-witted delivery of all his lines. 

The film is enjoyable at face value. And this is how it should be watched, at face value. It's a film that is what it is and doesn't try to be something it's not. There isn't too much drama, there isn't too much comedy, and their aren't too many over-the-top speeches even if some

of the drama does feel a bit contrived. Disappointingly though, Tina Fey's character is probably the most slighted in terms of back story, because she's given one, but we only get a hint of it. 

This is Where I Leave You isn't an offensive movie. It's chock-full of family issues from beginning to end, the siblings being the prime focus of the story, and that in itself is good enough to watch. It's not wholly satisfying on every level, but is moderately enjoyable. Will everyone enjoy it? Maybe not. But the star-studded cast, the humor, and occasional heartfelt moment won't make you feel like you've completely wasted your time. It's exactly the kind of movie most will want to cozy up to on the couch while eating yesterday's leftover dinner, its cast and slightly better-than-expected execution will at least keep you semi-entertained. 

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Jason Bateman and Tina Fey Sit Shiva in Trailer for 'This Is Where I Leave You'

An adaptation of Jonthan Tropper's novel This Is Where I Leave You has been one of the more heralded projects around Hollywood, drawing top flight directors and stars interested in being a part of it. At the forefront of its development was Jason Bateman, and when he and then-director Adam Shankman dropped out it looked like the film was dead. But Bateman returned, brought on Shawn Levy to replace Shankman, and rounded up a stellar cast for a film looks like just another bland family dramedy. What was all the fuss about?

The first trailer for This Is Where I Leave You features mismatched personalities, moments of family bonding and deep resentment all under one roof. The story follows a dysfunctional family reunited after the death of their patriarch, whose final wish was to have them sit Shiva for one week. Basically it means they're all stuck with one another for a few days so that any grievances are bound to be aired out.

While this looks about as formulaic as possible, having Bateman alongside Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver, Kathryn Hahn, Corey Stoll, Connie Britton, Ben Schwartz, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Spencer and Dax Shepard goes a very long way. Still, this looks like a kinder, gentler August: Osage County. This Is Where I Leave You opens September 12th.

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